School-Love!
by Miyu Shinohara
Summary: Yuki hated going to school, and Yuki hated being alive, yearning desperately for love in her life. But one day the world changed, and she discovered a person she wished to protect, no matter the cost. If she had to make a few sacrifices along the way, then so be it. Her perfect school life and romance would prevail, no matter the cost. (Dark fic, oneshot, Yandere!Yuki)


_**School-Love!**_

Holy shit, I really wrote this, and it was 45 pages long.

In chapter 55, Waterflame (scanlator) held a little contest for yandere Yuki stuff. The idea just wouldn't leave my head. So... here it is! I hope you like it! As a heads up, this is pretty damn dark. Like, really dark.

This was kind of bordering on being rated M, but I think it can get away with T. Regardless though... enjoy.

* * *

Yuki hated being alive.

The initial day of the outbreak was like any other. She forced herself out of bed. She forced herself to wash her face and brush her teeth. She realized she forgot to take her antidepressants before brushing her teeth, and gagged when the tastes mixed in her mouth.

"Mama, papa, I'm going to school," Yuki yelled to the empty apartment, giving a small, bitter smile. They were away on business, again.

It's not that Yuki disliked her parents or anything like that; quite the opposite, she loved them very much! They had always been understanding of her and her depression, as were the doctors they of course paid for. She knew they'd be back at the end of the month, but her parents being gone so much was ultimately one of the reasons she _was_ so sad.

They were trying, but she just wished they could try harder to be home more often, that was all. But they were all trying hard for her, so she had to try hard too! Even if every second felt terrible, she'd persevere for the happy tomorrow they were all helping her fight her.

That didn't make it any easier.

Yuki sighed as she walked alone to school. At least Takae was there, she always managed to cheer her up, if only a little. Yuki hated going to school too, but something about it was more… comforting. Perhaps because it wasn't an empty apartment she would be returning to? The presence of Takae and her teacher, Sakura Megumi? Megu-nee was pretty laid back, although sometimes she was harder on her… then again, Yuki did tend to daydream and doze off in class, could she really blame her teacher?

Besides, if she was a bad student, at the least, she would be noticed.

She couldn't admit it, she was sure it'd make her mad, but when Megu-nee scolded her or made her stay after for more lessons, it made her happy. To be noticed, even if it was bad, felt wonderful to Yuki. When she was around Takae or Megumi, when they wanted her presence either as a friend or a teacher, sometimes Yuki couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to _always _be wanted by someone.

To be in _love._

She blushed at the thought of it! Love… she loved her mama and papa of course, but who was there beyond that? Takae said she loved her, but not in some romantic way, as a friend. And Megu-nee was her teacher, that would be weird! Besides, she didn't feel any kind of crush to Megu-nee or anything; just a sense of someone to look up to…

_I wish I knew more kinds of love._

Once Yuki had a crush on a boy, but he had rejected her (she still thought about that kind of often, actually), and she never really quite tried pursuing anything at that. Once she felt she had a small crush on a friend from an internet forum, but it was not something she felt worth pursuing.

The thoughts had been festering in her brain ever since that first rejection, and began to grow worse about two months or so ago. It was an embarrassing situation actually; when going to the rooftops with the garden to get some fresh air, she had seen two students making out! She managed to bolt out before she was noticed, but with her depression having no end in sight for her, it further ruminated in her brain;

They _wanted_ each other. It wasn't about -at least to her- about sex or physical desires. Just that fact; two people _wanted _each other. _She_ wanted to be wanted, too! For someone to look at you tenderly, to hold you, and to help carry your burdens when they were too much for you…

… What she would have given for such things… To be wanted, and to have others want her. That wasn't an unreasonable request for a schoolgirl, right? For a high schooler? Emotional, and physical affection as well…

Adjusting her hat, she walked to the train station to continue onto school.

Another ordinary day with mostly fake smiles, another day of the same classes, and another day of at least receiving Takae's and Megu-nee's attention.

* * *

"See you for extra lessons after class."

Yuki hadn't even meant to be _this_ moody at first. She felt like she wanted to sleep, and when Megumi called her name, she couldn't muster the energy to pretend to be happy.

"Look at her hat…"

She didn't react to the comment, as she overheard one of Takae's friends (that she knew didn't like her) speak ill of it. Most people did, they said it was childish and immature; but it reminded Yuki of better days, and not having it made her days even _worse _than they already were.

"Megu-nee, you're brutal…" Yuki said with a pout.

"Don't call me Megu-nee. Its Sakura-sensei."

Yuki sulked off to her seat, absolutely disrespectful in every sense of the word, but as ashamed as she was (and would never admit it) she was happy. Somebody was taking an interest in her! Her teacher, but still! Even though it was supposed to be a punishment, a private lesson sounded wonderful…

And so, they were.

"Are you having trouble concentrating with me?"

"I don't like test, but… I don't mind being with you, Megu-nee."

Yuki wasn't really that bright, but she knew the material well enough. Even as she sat in that classroom with Megumi, with nobody else around, she felt on _her_ felt wonderful!

Megumi didn't scold her for the nickname, giving her a gentle smile and taking a seat next to her. "Then let's work through this together," she told her, earning a happy grin from Yuki.

Sometimes she enjoyed school.

And honestly, for the next hour or so? It was perfect. Sure, they weren't talking as friends or equals or anything fun, but Yuki enjoyed the undivided attention she received, not noticing as Megumi was distracted by something.

"Yuki-chan, I'll be right back."

"Ehhh?"

"I'll be out in the hall, so just call if you need anything."

And just like that, Yuki's OK day was disrupted.

"I'm hungry, I want a snack!"

"After you finish your test."

And Yuki sighed again. _Great…_ It's not that she couldn't solve it, it's that she didn't want to be alone. Here, home, _anywhere. _Just being alone, which happened so often, gave her anxiety. Now, she had a new objective; just finish this test as quickly as possible and then go home. Or maybe she'd take a walk to the mall. She'd be alone of course, but at the least, there would be faceless strangers surrounding her to give the illusion of company, like being here at school.

It was in that moment, a pivotal change happened in Yuki's life.

_I'm going to the bathroom._

Even if Megumi got mad… well, what did it matter? _She's my sensei, not my friend,_ Yuki reminded herself. Wouldn't detention again just give her more time to be around someone? Or it might have been another teacher that she'd have to be with…

"I'm sorry for interrupting the test… but you're the only one I can talk to about this, Megu-nee."

Yuki stopped in her tracks. She knew the voice… she _knew _this was wrong, but she peaked around the corner just to take a quick look to see who was talking to Megumi; it was a fellow third year, Ebusizawa Kurumi. She knew who she was, some girl from the track team, but that was it, and she was confident Kurumi didn't know who she was.

"Don't call me Megu-nee. It's Sakura-sensei," Yuki had to stifle a giggle, not blow her cover. She knew she should have felt bad for Megumi's situation, but she couldn't help it! It was like a joke everyone was in on…

"I just don't know what to do anymore…"

Yuki's humor ended at Kurumi's words. _Oh? _Was there… somebody who felt the same as she did? "Or why I feel the way I do about him…"

… Oh.

Yuki didn't expect _that, _but she continued to eavesdrop. She knew if she was caught neither would ever want to talk to her again, but something felt like it was compelling her to listen. Kurumi loved somebody…? Meanwhile, Yuki _wanted_ to love somebody.

"I see… your former senpai who graduated, huh? I see. I think I get it."

"Huh?"

"So, you want some advice about romance, Ebusizawa-san?"

"N-No!" Stammered the embarrassed Kurumi.

_Yes!_ Yuki thought. _Kurumi-san, please, let her talk about this!_

"I… guess so…"

_Yes!_

"But… well… maybe…"

"Then what is there to worry about?" Megumi said, trying to comfort her student.

"I feel a little better now that I've talked about it. It's weird, I could never talk about this with anyone else," Kurumi said. "But you're different, Megu-nee."

"…" Yuki was disappointed. She was really hoping to hear Megumi's advice on romance. Yet another disappointment to add onto the day. She suppressed her sigh as she headed back to the classroom, working on her test again. She knew Megumi would return soon, so she focused quickly on getting the few remaining questions done. She sped through them and they were probably wrong, but at this point, she just wanted to leave.

_Maybe I can ask her myself…?_

"… Took you long enough!" Yuki said, putting on a charade when her teacher arrived.

"Sorry…"

"I finished ages ago!" Yuki said with a triumphant grin, crossing her arms.

"Good job!" Megumi complimented, taking the test.

"All done… I'm exhausted, Megu-nee!"

"Don't call me Megu-nee, please," but she was smiling still.

"Maybe I'll get some ice cream and eat it aaaall up!"

"You shouldn't snack on the way home from school," Megumi said, reaching for her vibrating phone. Yuki frowned at the lack of attention, seeing Megumi absorbed into whatever was on her phone.

"What are you watching?" Yuki asked, trying to peer onto her cell phone.

"You shouldn't peak at other people's phones…" Megumi said. But there was a look in her eyes, a look of concern.

"… I'm going to go home," Yuki said, dejected.

"W… Wait, Takeya-san!" That certainly got Yuki's attention. "It, ah… it looks like the trains aren't running. Why don't you wait for a bit?" Megumi had asked her, trying hard to hide the panic in her voice.

"Really? But I'm starving!" Yuki complained, sighing. "Oh… I know! Why don't we go to the roof?" Yuki suggested. "They have those little baby tomatoes we could eat!"

"We're not supposed to eat those, Takeya-san. Besides, you're not supposed to go up to the roof!"

"Then I'll say I'm observing the gardening club! Would it be OK then?" Yuki said. In truth, she was hoping just to spend a little more time not alone. If there was no way to avoid being alone, then she didn't care if the trains weren't running, she'd go home.

"… Hey, Megu-nee?"

"Its… I'm sorry, what is it?"

"Can I… ask you something?"

"Ahh… d-does it have to be right now, Takeya-san?" Megumi seemed to be focusing on something else… "I… ah… Well, I suppose I can answer a question," but she didn't stop heading up the stairs. "What is it, Takeya-san?"

"… What does it mean to be in love, Megu-nee?"

"L... love?" Megumi was certainly caught off guard by that, although she didn't start walking. "I, um..." She was just about to give Kurumi advice, but in the end all Kurumi needed was to vent how she felt, huh? "I would say... you know you're in love when you love somebody far more than yourself, to start off," Megumi began. "To put someone above yourself... to be willing to do anything you can to support and protect them. When you care about them more than yourself, to the point all you want to do is make them happy... when your heart fills with nothing but joy when you think of them with every inch of that muscle, I think that's when you're in love. Goodness, I'm sorry, I've never really had to talk about this before..." Megumi did _not _expect to have to deal with this right now. In her head she didn't feel like what she was saying was right to Yuki, but with everything else on her mind...

"Megu-nee...?"

"I-I'm sorry, but can we... maybe discuss this tomorrow, Takeya-san?" Megumi said with a smile. "I don't... think I can give very good advice right now, I'm sorry."

If Megumi knew what influence her flustered, unfocused advice would have on Yuki, she never would have given it at all.

"It's unlocked?" Yuki had asked when they reached the rooftop, surprised.

"Oh, I'm sorry-! I forgot to lock the door again!"

Yuki looked at the fellow third year on the rooftop… Wakasa, she believed? She didn't know her, but she looked familiar. "I'm sorry, but would you mind locking that for me?" Megumi nodded, locking the door.

"Wooooow! Are you in the gardening club?" Yuki put on a cheerful smile as she looked at the baby tomatoes, before facing her fellow third year.

"As you can see," Yuuri told her, holding up a pitcher. "Did you come up here to check out the club?"

"Yeah! Those tomatoes look delicious!"

"Want to try one?"

"I can!?"

"Sure! If you're willing to help me out a little!"

Yuki began to zone out as she assisted Yuuri, helping water the plants. Her attention drew away from Megumi, not noticing her looking at her phone with a concerned, scared look on her face. It was… really fun, actually! Yuki's mind was still racing on the concept of _love_ and what it meant to love and be loved, but now, something new was growing.

_Maybe if I join a club like this, I can make more friends and be happy?_ It was calming, and what was just something she was trying to do for a snack was something she seemed to enjoy… Just maybe… "Wakasa-san, do you usually do this alone?"

"No, usually there's other club members here, but nobody showed up today…" Yuuri looked annoyed at that. "Honestly, I should scold them next time… I'm sorry, I never got your name, it starts with a Y, right?"

"Yuki! Takeya Yuki!"

"Well, Takeya-san, are you interested in maybe joining?" Yuuri asked. "Two of our club members, some twins, moved away a few months back. We could sure use some more hands around here?"

"R-really? I… I'll think about it!" The answer in her heart was already 'yes' despite not having thought it over, but…! This is what she wanted to do; she was sure of it!

_Maybe school can be fun after all…_

A banging at the door snapped her out of things, though.

"Who's that?" Yuki asked.

"Maybe another member of the gardening club?" Yuuri questioned. They weren't just knocking though; they were _banging_ on the door with all their might. Yuki noticed Megumi was talking on the phone with someone, and her expression was panicked.

"Coming, I'll be right there!" Yuki yelled, running over.

"WAIT!"

Yuki blinked, stopping. "Megu-nee, shouldn't we let them in?"

"_Someone! Someone please, open up!"_

Something was making Yuki feel uneasy now. It got worse when she saw Kurumi come through, a man draped around her shoulder. "Hurry! Close the door and lock it!"

Yuki began to… tune out what was happening, in fear. This boy was injured. Yuuri wanted to bring him to the nurse, but Yuki had decided to walk over to clear her head and try to calm her panicking nerves. What greeted her was something out of a nightmare itself.

She aw her fellow students panicking, running, attacked by fellow students. The ones who were caught were forced to the ground…

… And eaten alive.

"Everybody suddenly started acting like that…" Kurumi said, gasping for breath. "Then they got to the track team, and senpai got attacked…"

Yuki was trying to listen to the other girls, it was important, but she couldn't. Something about an ambulance? Something about leaving? She didn't really hear that, but she _did_ hear an explosion in the distance. "Ah…" And all present on the rooftop except Kurumi's injured senpai turned over, seeing the smoke in the air.

At this point it already became apparent to the future School Living Club that something about their world just changed, and it wasn't coming back. "I don't get it… why? Why is this happening?" Yuki finally spoke up, taking a few steps back. _I'm dreaming, right? I fell asleep in Megu-nee's lesson when she left the classroom… I… I need to wake up. If I don't wake up Megu-nee will see me sleeping and she'll get really mad,_ Yuki thought to herself, pinching herself… again and again, harder and harder. _Is this a side effect of the new medicine? Please, I just want to wake up!_

There was a banging at the door, again. More people trying to get to the safety of the roof? Yuki was going to suggest to let them in, before their hands literally burst through the door's window.

_I'm not dreaming._

And Yuki screamed.

"The gardening club lockers!" Megumi yelled, running over and pushing them to barricade the door. Yuuri rushed over to help, but Yuki remained frozen and scared.

"Takeya-san, push that washing machine over here!"

Hearing Megu-nee call for her, _need_ her sprung Yuki back into reality though. She rushed over to help push the washing machine over, eyes widening as she saw Megumi panicking again.

"_EBUSIZAWA! RUN!"_

Yuki watched in horror as the boy from before, Kurumi's senpai rose up. One of _them_ now. Yuki could only watch on as Kurumi backed up, Yuki's heart beating as fast as it possibly could, before witnessing Kurumi make her first kill, picking up her shovel and destroying her former senpai's head.

Despite the zombies at the door and the explosions in the city, there was an odd moment of silence between the girls. And something seemed to just… come over Yuki as she ran over to the girl, embracing her and crying.

"Silly… why are _you_ crying?" Kurumi comforted her; blood still splattered on her. Soon the tears ran down Kurumi's face as well, putting a hand on the other girl's head. "Who are you, anyways?"

And in that moment, something broke inside Yuki, but also awakened.

* * *

The next few days were hard, to say the least.

For four days the girls remained on the roof, observing the chaos below. Eventually there were no people left running, only the living dead shambling around. They didn't need to rest… never once did they see one lie down, but they did notice that at night time they seemed to become more lethargic, and some of them wandered off, only to return the next day.

"_Do they… remember they went to school here?" _Yuuri had suggested, and that was the only explanation they could come up with. The dead seemed to be drawn to the school they attended during the day, and wandered off at night…

The city too, went quiet. The explosions stopped, and the city… was dark. There were a few lights scattered throughout the buildings, but by the third day they had largely gone dark. It occurred to the girls then that no rescue was coming. The hungry women were forced to leave the relative safety of the roof into the hell that remained below.

They needed more food than what was on the rooftop. In the new situation that had become their lives, Kurumi had taken the charge of trying to clear out the undead. Kurumi had become rather attached to the shovel, valuing its sturdiness, durability, and reach. The girls made a risky gambit of waiting until nighttime, which seemed to work to their advantage; while the dark was dangerous, there were less undead roaming as well.

It was a tireless night with Kurumi and Megumi taking the lead, working on trying to clear the top floor and keep it safe. For the most part, the next month was completely devoted to reclaiming the school as a safe zone, with Kurumi at the front line. Megumi also helped out, despite not being as fit as her student. Yuuri and Yuki stayed behind primarily, often trying to make sure no undead wandered to them.

After the first day, Yuki stopped talking.

Despite Megumi's best intentions, she could not get Yuki to talk.

"_Takeya-san? Would you like some water?"_ Yuki would only nod.

"_Takeya-san, do you want to talk about how you're feeling?"_ Yuki would only shake her head. Yuki was almost as lifeless as the zombies that roamed the outside world and the school. She would eat, sleep, and use the bathroom… and that was more or less it.

Yuuri didn't admit it out loud but it kind of scared her; just being around Yuki was becoming unsettling. Kurumi felt the same way, while Megumi was just concerned. As much as Meugmi wanted to help Yuki though, the safety of the school she knew was her most important priority. Once the school was protected, Megumi could focus on Yuki's mental health and their rescue as well. Surely their had to be _something_ left out there, some remnant of the government or JSDF. One day they'd have the means to look…

The reclamation of the second floor had been going well, about two weeks later.

_Alright… coast looks clear,_ Kurumi thought to herself, looking out a door. The third floor and the roof were already clear. By stacking and tying the desks of the classrooms together, effective barricades could be made. Easy enough for a nimble human to climb over or crawl under, but too much for the rotting zombies to handle. It wasn't perfect; sometimes one or two got through, but it sure beat an entire infestation.

The girls had become used to sleeping during the day and acting at night during this phase of the outbreak. It was the safest way to operate, as the undead wandered off at night. The only exception was Yuuri, who insisted on working on the roof during daylight; _"Until we're rescued, it's more important than ever to make sure I can keep growing food for us…" _The survivors of Megurigaoka Private High School agreed, despite it resulting in not having many opportunities to talk to Yuuri during the incidents.

Kurumi tried to stay light on her toes during these. It hadn't even been a week but she already felt more alert about… everything. Every little noise around her, anything that could harm her; Kurumi felt like she was ready to fight anything in the world now.

So, when she heard a scream, something she hadn't heard since the first two days, she sprang into action. _That voice… Takeya!? _She sprinted off down the hallway, heading into one classroom. "H-hey! Takeya! Are you OK!?"

She saw Yuki on her knees, grasping one desk. "… C… can't… can't take…"

"H-hey… Takeya, are you alright? There's no… zombies around?" It felt weird, actually saying that. But they had all grown up familiar with the movies and stuff… what else was there to call it?

"… T… Takae… chan…"

"Takae…? Yuzumura?" Kurumi asked, approaching. She saw what looked like a ripped, bloody collar on the table. Kurumi didn't really know Takae, but she had a class with that girl last year; she always wore that. "Oh…" This was one of her friends, wasn't it? "Takeya… I-I'm sorry…" None of the girls had any chance to grieve, focusing on trying to reclaim the school as their sanctuary. But when she had to put down Kuto on the rooftop, it had been Yuki who had hugged her… she still didn't know if Yuki was trying to comfort herself or Kurumi, but as far as Kurumi was concerned, this was the closest to sympathy they could get.

"I can't… I can't… n-no more…" Yuki's voice was raspy from disuse, and she looked up at her with tears pouring down her face. "No… no more…!"

"Hey… hey! Wait! Takeya!" Kurumi's eyes widened as she sprinted out the classroom. _Shit! She's not armed!_ "Takeya! Dammit, Takeya, it's dangerous, come back!" She yelled, running out the door. She hadn't ran deeper into the school, but simply to one of the windows at the end of the hallway, and had opened it up. _Oh, SHIT!_ "Takeya, don't you DARE!" Kurumi yelled, dropping her shovel and sprinting ahead, tackling her fellow (former) third year to the ground as Yuki began to climb.

"No! Let me go! Letmegoletmegoletmego!"

"N-Not until you calm down!"

"NO! Why are you making me stay here…!? Let me go!" Yuki struggled with all her might, but Kurumi kept her pinned down. "I-It's my life! I don't… if this is what life is, I want _OUT! _It's my life, so shouldn't I have the right to say when I don't want it anymore!?"

"Takeya-san…"

"It's right there… j-just let me jump, I'm not taking any food or anything! You'll have MORE food!" Yuki pleaded, still crying. "Please… please, just let me go… Ebusizawa-san, please, let me die! I don't want to live like this or die like _THAT!_ Let me choose how I die! Let me—"

She was caught off guard by Kurumi's slap. _"Goddammit, it's not all about you, Takeya!"_

"… Ebusizawa…?"

She saw Kurumi was crying too.

"You don't think I want out!? You don't think I've thought about jumping off the roof!?" Kurumi asked, her own breakdown coming. "Look at this shit; it's like something out of a horror movie! One of those fucked up zombie movies from Hollywood! And it's just us… we don't even KNOW if anyone else is left!"

"Then… then let's go… l-let's end it on our own terms them—"

"Idiot, I'm not done!" Kurumi snapped. "But we lived… how many people died, while _we_ lived!? And this is what we say!? 'Hey, sucks you all died, but we made it out, so now we're gonna jump!?' I don't even know if my parents are alive!" She sighed, getting off Yuki, looking outside. "… None of us do. Don't we… don't we owe something to the dead?"

"Ebusizawa-san?"

"I want… to keep being alive, even though it's gonna suck. And yeah, it would be easier to just jump, but… we need to hope! I think… I think there has to be some people left. One day we can go look for them," Kurumi said. "Or maybe they'll rescue us! Who knows! Maybe the government will take control back," OK, that one was Kurumi lying to herself, but she was hoping it would at least resonate in Yuki. "Or maybe… maybe we'll have to help rebuild the world. What matters is… we _lived_, Takeya. We lived when… most people didn't. We owe it to everyone to stay alive… we owe it to them to try to be _happy._"

"…"

"And if you do this… why shouldn't I? Or Megu-nee? Or Yuuri? No… if you go, we're all going to go."

"You don't have—"

"Bullshit. If one of us gives up hope, it's gonna be a domino effect… so…"

Kurumi gave her a gentle smile despite the tears on her face. "… Let's not give up hope, alright? We need to stay alive… and I'll do everything I can to protect you all so we can be happy again!"

_Protect._

Something clicked in Yuki's head in that moment.

If Kurumi hadn't killed her senpai, what would have happened to them? Wouldn't they all be dead? Kurumi protected her… but what had he done except just drag her down? Yuki knew that on the rooftop, she wasn't trying to comfort Kurumi; she was just desperate to latch onto something… but Kurumi had protected her, and all of them, fighting these things again and again… the strong and handsome Ebusizawa Kurumi…

There was the faintest hint of a blush on her face, one that Kurumi couldn't see with how dark it was. _What is this feeling…?_

"So… don't… don't do this again, alright?" Kurumi asked, standing up. "Takeya-san?"

"… Yuki."

"Huh?"

"Call… Call me Yuki."

"… Alright, Yuki-san! Then call me Kurumi, got it?" The girl asked, giving a big, toothy grin.

Something was awakening inside Yuki, and she didn't know what it was.

"I want to help…"

"Eh?"

"You're going to go kill what's left, right? Let me… let me help!"

"I… I…. ah…" Kurumi rubbed the back of her head. Should she ask Megumi, who was scouting on the rooftop? It… was kind of hard to do this alone, admittingly. "I… hold on… There's a metal bat in that room, OK? Wait here- don't you _dare_ move towards that window," Kurumi said. _Jesus, this is probably a bad idea,_ Kurumi thought, grabbing a blood-stained bat. "Ugh…" Someone had killed two of the zombies in this room, probably in the first few hours… eventually she wanted to dispose of the bodies in the classrooms. "H-here… You have a flashlight, right?"

"Yeah…"

"OK… there's not a lot during the night time, so hopefully it's just a few stragglers," Kurumi said, leading Yuki down the stairs. "I was actually going to wait until Megu-nee was ready… but this way we could have a head start on clearing out the first floor!" She was really, really hoping this wouldn't be a bad idea. "Tak- Yuki, you ready?" Yuki nodded. "Alright… let's… go!"

Kurumi unlocked the door.

"Jeez-!" There were… certainly more than she expected. She scolded herself; it was the first floor, of course there'd be more, the entrance was right there! But it wasn't unmanageable, at least! _We already opened the door! Even if we lock it, they're gonna keep converging!_ "Yuki! Follow my lead!" She charged forward, smacking one on the head hard enough to knock it down, before beating it some more.

Yuki wasted no time charging as well. Her heart froze in fear at seeing one of her undead classmates look over at her, growling; so _close_ too! But…

_She protected you… she protected you! Protect yourself!_

Yuki let out a little yell as she swung her bat at the knees, knocking it down, and then introducing the bat to its head.

"D-don't yell!"

"I'm sorry!" Yuki said, hitting it again. Her first kill. Her first kill in this new world, against one of the living dead. _That wasn't bad…_ Shouldn't it have been harder to kill something? She had just ended the life of something that was once a human being…

The adrenaline was pumping as she rushed towards another one. This one didn't even have a chance to fully turn around. _Whoah… I… I'm doing it! I'm really doing it! I'm… I'm protecting everyone!_

_I'm protecting Kurumi!_

It actually caught Kurumi off-guard, how… immediately capable she was at this. It had taken her a few times to get used to killing these things, but Yuki had seemingly learned how to do this instantly. She didn't say anything as she made work of another zombie.

Trouble started brewing, though.

"Yuki! Yuki, there's too many and its too dark!" Kurumi yelled out. "We need to fall back! We've already done good…!" Kurumi's eyes widened as she felt herself back into something, jumping forward and barely seeing the zombie behind her. She swung her shovel to its face, knocking it down. "Yuki!"

They were being surrounded.

"Shit… shitshitshit!" Kurumi yelled in a panic, trying to whack another one, noticing there were almost four around her._ What am I supposed to do!? One of them is by the stairs!_ _I didn't see her! Oh no…!_

"Get away from her!"

The next few moments were like a flash.

Yuki rushed over, assaulting the undead with the baseball bat. With brutal efficiency, too. _Jesus…_ Kurumi realized that the bat, while sturdy and strong, was undoubtly much lighter than her shovel; and Yuki was making good use of the fact she could swing it faster and striking against rotten, weak flesh. Kurumi sprang into the fight as she was able to deal with the two others. "Holy shit… Yuki, ya saved my life! Thanks… Yuki…?"

Yuki was still assaulting one of the undead.

"Die."

"Yuki…?"

"_Diediediediediediedieiediediediediedie!"_

Yuki kept assaulting the undead, her bat slamming into its head again and again, nonstop, shattering the skull and not letting up even as it was dissolving into mush.

"Yuki… Yuki! We need to GO! This was a bad idea as it was, Yuki, we need to go! Please!" Kurumi pleaded, her flashlight shining down the corridor. "Yuki, there's MORE coming! We need to go!"

"_Diediediediediedie—"_

"Dammit Yuki, I _need_ you to come with me!"

"… You need me?"

Kurumi was distressed by the smile, but nonetheless, Yuki left with her as she locked the hallway behind them, the two sprinting up the stairs to the third floor.

"Je… Jesus…" Kurumi collapsed to the ground, instinctively checking herself for bites. "Oh my God, that was close…"

"… I… protected Kurumi-chan…"

Kurumi looked up at the girl, shining her light on her. She was covered in blood now, and she looked at her baseball bat. "I did that…"

"Y… you need to get that under control," Kurumi said. "You were like in a trance… You can't zone out like that again if we're fighting, alright?"

"Yeah, Kurumi-chan… uuu, I'm sorry…"

"It's fine… That was a stupid decision I made. We should have gotten Megu-nee's approval…" Kurumi gave a little smile though. "You're kind of good at this though… let's patrol together, if you're willing to. You protected me back there, thank you!"

_What is this feeling…?_

Something in Yuki's heart was stirring. The moment Kurumi complimented her, she felt warm. She felt like a warmth was welling up in her soul and it was overflowing, into her entire being! Like every inch of her body was being flooded with pure bliss and nothing else! _I protected… Kurumi-chan! And she thanked me! She thanked me she thanked me she thanked me!_

"_I would say... you know you're in love when you love somebody far more than yourself, to start off,"_ She remembered Megumi telling her. _"To put someone above yourself... to be willing to do anything you can to support and protect them. When you care about them more than yourself, to the point all you want to do is make them happy... when your heart fills with nothing but joy when you think of them with every inch of that muscle, I think that's when you're in love."_

She wanted… Kurumi to praise her again. When Kurumi had complimented her… ah! That feeling was joy, she realized that now! This was the most joyful she had been since this apocalypse began! No… no! This was the happiest she'd been in _ages!_

In response to the horrific world around her, Yuki's fragile psyche was beginning to shape into something else.

"Yuki…?"

"… A happy… school life…"

"Y-Yuki?"

Yuki looked at her with tears in her eyes, but with a smile.

"We can still have… a happy school life…"

* * *

Lots of things changed rapidly in the three months that followed.

After the incident on the first floor, the girls had come to a conclusion that it was no longer safe to only act during the night hours. While the number of stragglers were severely down at this time of night, the lack of vision was simply far too dangerous.

And with that, Yuki's perception of the world seemed to have change.

"Goooood morning everyone~!" Yuki said with a smile, greeting her fellows.

"Good morning, Yuki-san," Yuuri greeted smiling back.

"Morning, Rii-san!" Yuuri kept smiling, starting to grow used to the nickname. "Oh! Megu-nee! Kurumi-chan!"

"Good morning, Yuki," both said, offering her warm smiles.

"So, what kind of club activities are we going to do today!?"

From their perspective, it was like this was some kind of game to Yuki. She acted like she was in a school club, one where they actually lived at the school.

"Still… got to finish clearing out the first floor of… delinquents," Kurumi chose her words carefully. Yuki didn't react much to things like 'zombies' or 'living dead' now. If they did, Yuki seemed to… tune it out unless the used more familiar terms. As far as Takeya Yuki was concerned, she was a third-year student just trying to live her best life. "I feel like there's been more lately… we need to check the barriers again."

The girls would have lied if they said it didn't unnerve her, but considering Yuki's suicidal outburst three months prior, they felt like they could not confront her about it.

"Uuu… They're the worst!" Yuki crossed her arms, puffing out her cheek. "I just want to go to class, but they won't let me!"

"It's only the first floor… Takeya-san, you can still attend your classes on the third floor," Megumi said with a smile.

"Yeah! Almost all your classes are on the second and third floor… why don't you leave it to me, Yuki-chan?" Kurumi offered. "You can go focus on your studying, and—"

"Nuh uh!" Yuki said, smiling. "I love this school a whoooole lot, so I don't want meanies to be harassing everyone! Takae-chan was a delinquent once… I don't want the wrong influence to make her bad again!" That one was a dull blow to their stomachs, and especially how she talked to the torn choker…

"Right… Well, why don't we get to it after breakfast?" Kurumi said, wincing as she sat up. "Ack! Son of a…"

"You still need to rest a bit it, Ebusizawa-san," Megumi said. "Your ankle needs another two or three days to heal up."

"This sucks…" Even if there wasn't a zombie apocalypse where work had to be done, Kurumi hated staying still. It didn't help that she couldn't really goof around on her phone.

"You can help me and Megu-nee on the roof," Yuuri said with a smile, with a nod from Megumi. And so, followed a quiet an uneventful breakfast, followed by Yuki practically jumping out of her seat.

"Don't worry, everyone! I'll do it!" Yuki said, saluting. "I'm gonna get rid of all the bullies and delinquents, send 'em back home!" She said, giving a wave to her friends and teacher before running off.

"… She… scares me…" Yuuri admitted, frowning.

"Hey, come on; you'll hurt her feelings if she hears that," Kurumi said with a frown… it wasn't like she didn't feel the same, though. "What do you think, Megu-nee…?"

"I'm no therapist or anything like that… I know Takeya-san had a history with mental illness even before all this, though," Megumi said. "For now, I don't know what else we can do but allow her to cope in her own way," she hated saying that, she knew this was unhealthy; but what else could be done? If they pushed her too hard, her mind could break once more. Right? She didn't know enough about this to make proper judgments about… anything. _When we find people, we can get her proper psychiatric help,_ Megumi thought.

"Besides… isn't it a little endearing, fucked up as that sounds?" Kurumi asked. "It brightens the day…"

"… Yeah," Yuuri admitted. She just didn't know for how long it could be endearing, though.

Meanwhile, below, Yuki was making quick work of the living dead.

"_Beating up delinquents song, beating up delinquents song, this is my beating up delinquents song~!" _Yuki sung to herself. Her expression was cheery as she approached the sluggish zombies before whaling on them. Usually she tried to knock them down with a blow; with their slowed responses it was hard for them to get back up, giving her plenty of time to bash their brains into nothing!

Blood would splash up to her smiling face, and Yuki giggled as she wiped the blood from her face. "Sorry mister, but you should know better than sneaking in where you want~" She scolded, her baseball bat slamming on a former classmate's head once again. "I guess you couldn't help it though! Knowing there's a bunch of cute girls in here~"

Yuki smiled, looking at the compromised barrier. One desk had fallen out of the position due to the rope loosening… which had led to a collapse in the entire structure. More than enough for zombies to slip through… Yuki did a good job with this one! It was really subtle; nobody would be able to realize _she_ was the one the security was failing!

It was worth it to be praised! She'd kill these delinquents, then she'd go back to _Kurumi._ And then? _Kurumi_ would complement her! She'd tell her what a good job she had done, and her heart would swell with love once more! It's not like they had a chance at getting to the third floor… after all, she kept the second doors unlocked sometimes, but she wasn't so dumb she'd risk their _entire_ sanctuary being risked!

Just enough to create little incidents so that Kurumi would praise her more! It's what she lived for! When _her_ Kurumi didn't praise her after doing a good job, it was like her heart itself shattered… but Kurumi always did! Whenever she protected Kurumi and everyone else, her entire body was filled with joy! It's not like it would hurt anyone if Kurumi knew she was creating the needs to protect her, right? As long as nobody was actually hurt…

This was a happy life; Yuki came to the conclusion of. A happy, quiet school life with just the love of her life, a good friend, and her favorite teacher, like something out of an anime! And one day, she'd confess too!

"… H… hello? Is someone in here?"

Yuki's world froze at hearing a stranger's voice.

"… Hello?"

"I… I knew it wasn't just me! Someone else! H-hey, I'm alive!"

Yuki's eyes widened as she heard this stranger's voice. "I-I saw one of the doors were unlocked… they weren't last time, so I think it was an accident; b-but thank God!"

_No._

_Nonononononono._

There wasn't _supposed_ to be more people here. It was her, Kurumi-chan, Rii-san, and Megu-nee! It was… it was perfect! Like something out of some manga; a small cast, not being dulled down by too many people!

"… Come on out…" Yuki said, a brown-haired girl coming out a few moments later from behind a locker. She looked a mess…

"I-I used to come here before everything!" The girl explained, hands in the air. Yuki was covered in blood, and she noticed the metal bat had hit so many things and people, there was actually a noticeable dent, enough to make it look bended like a dog's leg.

"Who are you?" Yuki asked, blinking.

"K… Kei! My name is Shidou Kei! I was a second year here!" Kei said, still trying to maintain a distance. "I want… I swear I saw some lights go off at night here the other day, so I came here… The doors were locked and stuff, but yesterday I was able to take shelter before getting surrounded by the dead people since the door wasn't locked…"

_Dammit._

OK, so Yuki's plans weren't foolproof.

"I… Can you take two more!?"

"Two…?"

"Me and my friend, our group kind of fell apart… we're the only ones left! I left because I couldn't… I couldn't stand being all cooped up in a room like that…" Kei seemed kind of ashamed.

_So, she abandoned her friend._

She was a _liability. _If there was an actually serious branch in security, she wouldn't give her life to protect her Kurumi-chan like _she_ would.

"I… I've been trying to find anyone out here. It's like, the city is so empty…" Kei said, looking down. "I… I set out to find something else, but I want to bring my friend here, if it's safe!" She pleaded. "I-I've killed my share of these guys, and I'll even eat less than everyone else! I'll go find my friend and everything, we'll do our work!"

"… No… I-I'm sorry, but it's just me…"

"Huh? I… I have these," she had a pair of binoculars around her neck. "I… I kind of looked in the other day, I saw more people moving around… a-and you have the food the gardening club grows, right? Please, I _promise_ we can pull our weight! I understand being nervous… but its life or death! She'll die alone…"

_It's not MY fault that YOU left her to die alone!_

"Please, let us live with you! Please, I'm begging you!"

Inside, Yuki was _screaming._

With too many people, she couldn't protect Kurumi anymore. There would be too many people to divide the guard duty with… and… two more people to take up Kurumi's attention!? She'd… she'd never have enough gratitude to give to her!

It'd be like before…! She'd be _**loveless! Unwanted! Unneeded! She couldn't be anything if Kurumi didn't need her to protect her!**_

_No! Nononono!_

"… Come on in, Kei-chan. To the stairs…"

"R-really!?" Kei asked, ecstatic. "Thank you! Just… we have a lot of supplies where we were, too! It's all yours, as long as we can rescue Miki!" Kei went on, walking ahead.

_This is my happy school life and romance._

_I've waited and given up __**too much**__ for this to not work._

"You're saving our lives… thank you, thank you _so much!"_ Kei said, wiping some sweat off her brow. She was so nervous she was sweating bullets. "Hey… I-I'm sorry, I didn't get your—"

_Name?_

It was Kei's last coherent thought, as she saw Yuki's baseball bat swing towards her face.

Kei fell to the floor, bleeding profusely from her head, holding it. "… Ah? Huh? Head… head… hurt…" Why was she seeing funny out of her right eye? She didn't even notice it had popped from the socket. "Head… h… hur—"

Yuki swung it down again. And again.

And again.

_Nothing is going to get in the way of me and __**my**__ darling Kurumi._

Yuki was smiling once more.

She was going to be a little late getting back to the girls.

* * *

_This is love._

Yuki was able to BS her way into a lie about being distracted for a bit. It was a pain, dragging the corpse outside to be eaten and undressing so her clothes didn't get too dirty, but work was work.

That night, when everyone else was asleep, she walked to the dirty laundry. The one good thing about this was that they had lots of spare uniforms in the school, once they had found where they were all kept.

There were four piles of dirty laundry. And Yuki made sure nobody was around… the coast was clear.

_I'm in love. I'm in love with my Kurumi._

She picked up one of Kurumi's panties, holding it close and smelling it deeply, followed by a kiss and a lick.

_This is my perfect school romance, and I have to make sure that stays the same no matter what._

Just the thought of the world returning to peace with the living dead no longer feasting on the living gave her anxiety.

* * *

"I saw you last night, Takeya-san."

Yuki's heart stopped when Megumi confronted her privately the next day.

"… What?"

"You didn't notice me. I was quiet. I was… waiting for you in there. I saw what you did with Kurumi's underwear, Takeya-san, and I know you've done this before," she said, her eyes narrowed. "I've had my suspicions for a while, so I decided to… stake out. Now. Explain it. Right now."

"I… I was… I…"

How could she even lie her way out of this?

"Y-you don't understand, Megu-nee."

"_Do not call me that,"_ Megumi's voice was harsh and cold, and had an intimidating presence that she Yuki didn't believe her gentle voice could have. It was enough to intimidate her, make Yuki take a few steps back. "Explain it. If I don't understand, explain it. Right now."

"… I wanted… to be closer to her…"

"… My God, Yuki…"

"W-when she confesses that she feels the same I won't have to do that when she lets me smell her!" She pleaded. "Just… we just need more time, you know!"

"Yuki… what are you talking about?" Megumi asked. "She… do you think she's attracted to you like that…?"

"Of course, she is! Or if not… we just need the right love conditions! We just… we just have to find the right moment! Just like a manga!" Yuki pleaded. "I love her. I love every part of her… It's like, when I'm not with her, everything feels so hollow and empty! Like how I was before, like I'm _choking to death just by being alive! _But… when I'm with Kurumi-chan everything changes! And when she _praises_ me, everything changes too! When she praises me… my entire body just fills with love and confidence, and I can't feel that way unless she praises me again!"

"Yuki…"

Yuki was blushing. "I… I'm alive for her. She saved my life back then, when I wanted to jump off the second floor! I live for her… everything I do, I do for her! Megu-n… Sakura-sensei, don't you remember what you told me? The day this all started?"

"The day this started…?"

There was a thunderclap above. It took a moment, but horror began to dawn on Megumi. "Oh… oh no…!"

"You were right, Sakura-sensei! I care about her more than myself; I'm _worthless_ without her, sensei!"

Megumi's breath was shaky, as she took a step back in horror. "Takeya-san…!"

"I've always been worthless and weak and pathetic! But now everything is better! Because as long as I have _my_ darling in my life that's OK! I'm worth less than nothing… b-but I love her with all my heart!" Yuki was giving a big smile at this point. "I want to protect her. I _need_ to protect her! Because I'm in love from the bottom of my heart, I'll protect her from everything!" Yuki said. "I understand what you mean! I want to do everything I can to support and protect her… and in a world like this, I have the strength to _protect!"_

Megumi slapped her.

"… M-Megu-nee?"

"This. Is. Not. Love," Megumi said, tears flowing down her face as she grasped her shoulders.

"… Not love…?"

"Yuki- you're- Jesus Christ- you're not _in love_ with Kurumi, you're _obsessed_ with her!" Megumi pleaded. "Listen to yourself, you say she's _yours_ when she's her own person! You're not even talking about her like a person, you're talking about her like your fantasy, or something you own! What I said… Yuki, what I said wasn't right! I was panicking because I was getting the news about the outbreak on my phone, I wasn't thinking right!" Megumi said, the rain pouring down outside.

"… I'm not in love…?"

"No! Takeya-san, listen to me! Your mind is… it's damaged. You _think_ you're in love so you can cope with the world around you; you're making this obsession with Kurumi your entire life and reason for living!"

"There's nothing wrong with living for someone if you're in love with them!" It was the first time Yuki ever talked back to her.

"This isn't love… Yuki, I'm _sorry_ for what I said to you back then! This is… Oh God, this is my fault," Megumi said, tears streaming down her face. "I… I did this to you, I'm so sorry…"

"Megu-nee…"

The thunderclap that followed was enough to shake the building. Megumi sighed, taking a deep breath to recollect herself, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"We're telling Kurumi what you've been doing."

"What? NO!?" Yuki hit Megumi's hands away. "She'll hate me… she'll think I'm some creepy pervert! No! No, you can't do that!"

"Yuki, you _are_ being a creepy pervert!" It was unprofessional and so unlike her to talk like this, but Megumi wasn't going to mince words. "You need help, and we don't have the means to get you that help, but at the very least we can help you understand! Kurumi will… probably be very angry at you, but one day… one day… She has a right to know this, Yuki. And you need to understand what you're doing is _wrong._ I'm sorry. We're going to go talk to her."

"No… nonononono!"

Megumi's eyes widened as she felt Yuki grab her wrist with all her strength. "L… Let go. Yuki, you're hurting me, let go!"

"I didn't kill that girl for you to mess it up now, Megu-nee."

For Megumi, time stopped.

"… What?"

"A girl came in yesterday for shelter. But there's not enough room for five. Not in this perfect, happy world. I didn't kill that Kei girl to protect my school romance for _you_ to mess it up," Yuki said, looking up. The look in her eyes to Megumi was… empty. Soulless.

Inhuman.

"Wh… oh my God… Yuki, you didn't…"

"She's my entire world, Megu-nee. I'll do _anything."_

"SAKURA-SENSEI! YUKI-SAN!" Yuuri ran to the room and opened the classroom door. "WE HAVE A PROBLEM! KURUMI'S IN TROUBLE! IN THE TEACHER'S LOUNGE!"

"_What's happening to Kurumi!?"_ Yuki screamed, letting go of Megumi. Megumi looked down, seeing her wrist was bruised.

"The undead; they're _swarming_ down there! She told me to get you!"

_You didn't stay to save her!? _Yuki thought, rage filling her before she ran off.

Megumi grabbed the weapon she had grown accustomed to using, a crowbar, and followed Yuki. She still fully intended to have this talk, but for now, rescuing Kurumi came first. And she didn't know if she could do it without Yuki.

Yuki didn't bother killing most of the undead. They had never seen so many inside since the first days. _Is it the rain? Are they trying to take shelter from the rain?_ Megumi thought. Yuki swung at their heads with enough force to knock them down, managing to kill a few in the process but not intentionally. "Kurumi-chan! Kurumi-chan! Can you hear me!? Kurumikurumikurumi!"

_If you're dead I'll NEVER forgive Wakasa!_

"Hey! Megu-nee! Yuki-chan! Can you hear me!?" Kurumi yelled out from the teacher's lounge as she heard Yuki's voice. "T-they're gonna break in!"

"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Yuki charged forward as she began assaulting the undead, too distracted by the meal they perceived in the room in front of them as opposed to the approaching threat. Yuki was more concerned about knocking them down, before violently finishing them off. "Diediediediediediedie!"

_Anything that dares threaten __**my**__ Kurumi-chan needs to DIE!_

"Takeya! Dammit, Takeya, they're dead!" Megumi snapped, as she finished off that was still moving around. "Hurry! Get Kurumi!"

_Don't think you're still just getting away with all of this, Yuki…. _Megumi thought bitterly. Maybe… maybe they would have to make some kind of prison for her…? She didn't want to harm Yuki, despite her crimes. All she wanted was to get her help, despite everything.

Yuki raced inside; Kurumi draped around her. "Kurumi-chan, can you walk?"

"Ugh… my ankles still twisted, dammit. I didn't… I didn't think they'd just swarm like this…" Kurumi said, embarrassed. "I'm so sorry… thank you Yuki, you're a lifesaver…"

Megumi's heart skipped a beat at seeing how _happy_ Yuki was when she heard that, despite their lives in the balance. Yuki looked back, and her eyes widened as she was about to say something… but closed her mouth, saying something else a moment later.

"… Megu-nee…"

"Yuki…?"

"I want to talk about that thing we talked about with everyone."

"R… really…?"

"Hey, I really don't want to be like this, but I'd _really_ prefer if we could talk about something when there aren't dead guys trying to eat us! … Dammit Yuki, delinquents that want to beat us up!" Kurumi snapped.

"O-oh! Right, of course, of course!" Yuki said, giving a determined look. "We're all going to be fine… right, Megu-nee…?"

"… Yes…" Megumi's full attention was on Yuki now. "We're all going—"

Her eyes widened in horror as she felt a zombie bite into her arm.

"_MEGU-NEE!" _Kurumi and Yuki yelled, as Megumi fought the zombie attacking her… far too late.

"N… No. Oh, nonononono…" Megumi's eyes widened in horror as she observed her arm.

"We need to go! Megu-nee!" Yuki said, alarm and panic in her eyes. Was the situation reaching her fragile mind, at last?

"Get… Get Ebusizawa-san upstairs!" Megumi said.

"D-dammit… let me fight!" Kurumi said. "I can… I can help!"

"There's nothing you can do with your ankle, Kurumi-chan! Just let me take you up the stairs…"

"I will… I will hold them off here," Megumi said. "I'll come up in a bit! Takeya-san, come back and tell me when you get her to safety!" If this was how she was going to die, then at least she could protect her students…

… But she still needed to warn them around Yuki.

Yuki disappeared for nearly 10 minutes, taking the time to get Kurumi to the third floor in safety, before returning to her. "Megu-nee…"

"Yuki…" There were several more zombie corpses by her, and Megumi took deep breaths, nearly at her limit. "I… I'm proud of you…"

"…"

"They won't hate you… you're friends. They'll… at least try to understand… you're going to be happy one day. You'll understand everything about what real love is. Please… let me talk to Ebusizawa and Wakasa, before I… before I… they won't abandon you, even if they understand, I'm sure of it… or kick you out. I—"

Yuki grabbed her crowbar from out of her hand.

"… T-Takeya-san…?"

"This is a valuable weapon. You don't need it anymore, right?"

The look of absolute horror on Megumi's face was met with Yuki's happy smile.

"It's going to be sad… you were my favorite teach, Megu-nee, I mean it! But… now I'll have to fill in even more… Now, with the new work I'll do, there's going to be even more chances for my Kurumi-chan to praise me!"

Something dawned on Megumi.

"… You… you d-distracted me, saying that… s-so I wouldn't…" Megumi's eyes widened in realization. "You saw… you saw that zombie, didn't you…? You just didn't want me to notice it…"

Yuki pulled down an eye and stuck her tongue out.

"Byyyyye, Megu-nee! I'm going to miss you… but I'm going to love having even more of my Kurumi-chan's attention a LOT more!"

"_Yuki, NO!"_

But Yuki slammed the hallway door in her face, locking it immediately after.

"And that is that!"

* * *

Killing Megumi was the best decision Yuki felt she ever made.

Now, she had been sad, of course. Some of her favorite romance mangas had included a teacher main protagonist… and her delusions aside, Megumi had been the first person to ever take an interest in her school life. Who made her welcome at school and taught her things that wasn't just the lesson plan… the first person who ever made school enjoyable…?

… But getting Kurumi's attention even more made that aaaaaaaaaaaall worth it!

In the months that followed, the School Living Club (as Yuki had suggested! Kurumi praised her for the name!) had lived in the ruins of Megurigaoka Private High School, just the three of them. Megumi's loss had devastated the girls… but life kept marching on.

The girls adapted to the loss of Megumi. And as far as Yuki was concerned, this was the _perfect _school life. Her secret was protected, the illusion of the School Living Club lifted the spirits of Kurumi and Yuuri too! Yuki played her role, pretending to go to classes when not patrolling, and doing everything she could to make this dull place liven up! As far as Kurumi and Yuuri were concerned, this was just her way of coping, even if it made them smile too. They might have felt differently if they knew just how far gone Yuki was, though. Actually, probably.

Pretending she was talking to Megu-nee in particular was the perfect mixture of innocence and sorrow! It helped the other two think of their departed teacher while also pitying Yuki! She could hear it in how they talked to her, but she didn't care (she especially didn't care how Yuuri felt), but hearing Kurumi feel bad for her… almost felt as amazing as her praise!

Every day was as amazing as a pleasant dream… they had even caught some pigeons! Yuki giggled as she thought of the memory, slamming her baseball bat down onto another zombie. Yuki had drawn a little picture and message on Arnault to deliver to… whoever found him.

_We are fine!_

And as long as nobody intruded on this paradise, they would keep being fine. Yuki didn't need anything in the world except Kurumi. Yuuri was nice and all, but she was the love of her life! She hoped that the message would never find anyone; in fact, she figured they wouldn't. It was just a fun little school adventure, one of the many the girls had now!

And now, they were going to head out into the city to look for supplies! It was _so_ exciting… she wished Yuuri would stay behind instead of third wheeling her… it would have been so amazing if this was a _date_ instead of a _field trip! _It sucked that she had developed a damn fever, but she wouldn't let it stop her good time!

… Of course, there was a little hiccup early on.

"Could this be your home, Kurumi-chan?"

"… Y-yeah…"

Yuki hadn't thought of this.

Yuki kept on her ask, giving a gentle smile. "Why don't you stop by? It's been a long time since you've been home…"

"But I didn't tell them I was coming."

_Good!_ Yuki's voice pleaded in her head. This wasn't a scenario she had anticipated! What if… what if Kurumi-chan's parents were still alive and in there!? She'd be happy for Kurumi of course, being reunited with her loved ones…

… But what about _her?_

What if they were… strong people? What if Kurumi's parents were going to protect her?

"… You know what? I'm going in?"

Inside, Yuki was screaming. If she couldn't protect Kurumi… how was Kurumi ever going to fall in love with her? What if Kurumi's parents… didn't approve of her, and she decided she wanted to make them happy!? No. Nononono. That was _unacceptable._

She waited quietly in the car, for Kurumi to return. She was taking a while…

"Yuki-san, are you OK?" Yuuri asked, smiling at her.

"Yeah! Just waiting for Kurumi-chan~" She said with a giggle, throwing Yuuri off.

In a worst-case scenario, if the reason she was taking so long was because she was talking to her parents…

… How could she get rid of grownups? She couldn't carry a grown man like she could have with Kei…

"Oh!"

Yuki was ecstatic to see Kurumi return. "Welcome back!"

"Yeah."

The tone in Kurumi's voice said it all to Yuki, and inside, she screamed for joy.

Thank God her beloved's parents were dead!

* * *

That night, the girls camped out at a gas station, with Kurumi and Yuuri taking turns. Yuki tried to sleep, but this was too uncomfortable, dammit…

She decided it'd be much better to eavesdrop on Yuuri and Kurumi talking… more than anything, she just wanted to hear her Kurumi's voice…

"I was wondering, what if… the school was the only dangerous spot, and rescue efforts have already begun elsewhere…" Kurumi said.

Yuki didn't like where this was going. She didn't _like_ thinking about being "rescued." Even if it was Kurumi's voice saying it.

"I thought about that myself…" Yuuri admitted.

"Like… the helicopters flying overhead? Are they JSDF? Or the United Nations? Maybe the United States or China?" Kurumi asked. "And I keep imagining like… they'll say things like 'Are you OK?' or 'You did well…'"

"That sounds great, like something out of a movie," Yuuri said.

"But life isn't like that," Kurumi said with a sigh. "Life isn't like a movie… there's no heroes like that."

_Villains,_ Yuki thought in her head. Villains that would want to separate them…

"You never know that?"

"Hmmm?"

Yuuri smiled at Kurumi. "Maybe the hero is hard at work on his mission… Megurigaoka is a big city, but its not like the capital. He's probably in Tokyo…"

"Yeah… He's already saved a bunch of people, and probably had to fight human bad guys," Kurumi said. "He's built a barricade and is on his expedition out of Tokyo… It'll take him a long while to get here. So come on, hurry up Mr. Hero…"

Yuki was very quiet as she ruminated on this.

What if there was civilization remaining? What if they eventually came to Megurigaoka? They'd come to liberate them… and then they'd all be safe. They'd be taken someplace safe, with a lot of other people; maybe she'd be separated from Kurumi!?

_Unless…_

"Naïve…"

Neither of them could hear her.

There couldn't be heroes. She didn't want there to be… but… it made her think of something…

… She couldn't just wait forever, could she? Telling Kurumi how she felt, only sniffing her clothes when nobody was looking…

She couldn't wait forever. She couldn't wait for a hero… for circumstances to make it so she'd have her happy ending with her Kurumi.

And being a hero wasn't that simple in the zombie stories… in the zombie stories, the heroes always had to do bad things to survive, despite being good guys too, right? So… if she wanted to have a happy life with Kurumi, she'd have to be a hero. She'd have to be a hero to ensure her own happy ending.

She came to a realization that one day she'd probably have to get rid of Yuuri.

The hero had to do what she had to do in order to achieve a happy ending!

* * *

The mall was pretty fun!

"Hey, can I buy this?"

"Don't buy unnecessary things," Yuuri scolded.

As much as she hated Yuuri being around, it felt so fun to be around here! They looked for all sort of things, and even found some useful stuff; glowsticks that distracted the zombies, and anti-crime whistles! All sorts of cute clothes too… now, Yuki knew she wouldn't bring any with her, but still! It was fun, not just because Kurumi was there… holding up fancy and sexy clothes, imagining herself in them. She even tried on some super expensive high heels… and fell on her face.

"Hey. Kurumi-chan, how does this look?" Yuki said teasingly as she held up a very skimpy bathing suit to her figure, sticking her tongue out. Oh, that bush Kurumi had was _adorable!_

"S-something like that doesn't suit a girl like you, Yuki!" Kurumi said, and even Yuuri couldn't help but giggle. Was there really no way she could bring this back with her? It'd be worth it to see Kurumi get like that again… But if just for a little while, Yuki even forgot her obsessive 'love' and indulged in just having fun in this clothing shop. Yuuri had found a beautiful dress and… oh my, Kurumi looked _handsome_ with a tie! Those shorts really showed off her legs too…

She just giggled, holding a new animal hat over her head. _Nah, mine is cuter,_ she thought, tossing it aside. But still, for the first time in quite a while, she enjoyed spending time with _both_ of them instead of just accept that Yuuri was there. She was actually kind of sad when they changed back into their normal clothes…

…

No.

The girls encountered a barricade a few minutes after that. "Hold on, I'll go look ahead," Kurumi said, climbing over the boxes. Anxiety filled up Yuki's chest, her precious Kurumi all alone.

"DON'T COME!"

Yuki's eyes widened in horror as Kurumi jumped back over.

"Kurumi, are you OK!?" Yuki asked.

"I'M FINE! QUICKLY, WE NEED TO GO!"

The barricade fell over a moment later, several of the undead staring them down.

"Let's go!" Yuuri yelled, as they began to run off. _Of all the places, the stairs!?_ Yuuri thought bitterly. As they rushed down however, a few more roamers had also been attracted to the new noise. "Son of a…!" She took one of the glowsticks throwing it over their heads, grabbing their attentions. At that point it was child's play for Kurumi and Yuki to dispatch the undead.

"Yuki, be careful!"

Kurumi's voice usually made Yuki euphoric, but in this context, she should have listened more carefully. She slid on the blood of the undead on the stairs, taking a bit of a stumble. "O-Ow-!" She groaned, landing on her butt.

"You OK? Didn't break or twist anything, right?" Kurumi asked, taking her hand, as a warmth filled her upon taking her hand.

"I-I'm OK, Kurumi-chan!" Yuki said with a smile, getting up. "Ow, though…"

"Would you like to take a short break?" Yuuri asked. With the danger having passed Yuki nodded, sighing as she took a seat.

"You're sick, too," Yuuri said, putting a hand on Yuki's forehead. Yuki wished it was Kurumi's hand instead. "You need to take better care of yourself…"

"Sorry, sorry…" Yuki said, yawning and resting her eyes. Not sleeping, still listening, but she did have a fever; it was good to rest her eyes a bit…

"We were too late," she heard Kurumi say a few minutes later, but didn't say anything. "Looks like there was a survival group here on the fifth floor. But…"

"Think anybody survived?" Yuuri asked.

"Don't think so. I hope they did, though."

Good.

Yuki smiled in her 'sleep.' Nobody else to get in the way. She rested her head in Yuuri's lap, feeling the girl pat her head. Oh, how she wished it was Kurumi instead…

"Let her rest for a bit, she'll need her strength to make it through the ground floor," Kurumi instructed.

Yuki actually did fall asleep now, dreaming of Kurumi.

Life was good.

* * *

Life quickly soured.

"_Wait! Wait for me!"_

Yuki's eyes widened as she heard someone yelling.

"Do you hear that?" Yuuri asked.

"… N-no…" Yuki lied, hoping they could just leave. Nononononono!

"… Is that… security guards chatting…?" Kurumi said something to maintain the illusion she was unaware Yuki faked, taking a step forward. "… I'll check it out."

"What if there's… delinquents, Kurumi-chan?"

Kurumi grinned. "Then you know I'm tougher than all of them!"

"_HELP ME! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"_

Kurumi and Yuuri were already heading towards the voice.

"… N-no…"

Reluctantly, Yuki followed, the girls seeing another girl around their age on a piano, trying to stay out of reach of the zombies.

"Hey! You OK!?" Kurumi yelled, the short-haired girl looking absolutely shocked.

"T… there really is someone else…!" The girl took a step forward, in disbelief, like this was a mirage.

"Hey! Don't move! Stop moving!" Kurumi yelled, as she noticed the girl moving forward. "Dumbass! Wait a minute- shit!"

Much to everyone except Yuki's horror, the girl had tripped.

_Yes! _Yuki thought. Crisis solved! The zombies were going to do all the work! Now they just had to head back to the school! Take a nice hot shower hopefully…

"Dammit! What do we do!?" Kurumi yelled.

"It's too late…" Yuki said quietly, pretending to be filled with remorse. Maybe Kurumi would want to talk about this later…!

But Kurumi was rushing forward. "W-wait!" Yuki yelled out, watching her clash with one of the zombies. _Nonononono!_ She grits her teeth, trying to think of what to do. _Alright, drastic times, drastic measures! _"Cover your ears!"

With the backpack still on she pulled the plug on one of the anti-crime whistles. It blasted in her ear, and she was intending on throwing her backpack to distract them… but in that moment the girls learned something new; apparently if a sound was loud enough, it could actually disorient the zombies! "KURUMI!"

"GO TIME!"

The two rushed forwards, killing the living dead with their bat and shovel, and when all was said and done, stood over the unconscious girl. And a moment later Yuki collapsed. Kurumi and Yuuri shouted something, but between the incredibly loud ringing right in her ears, the fever, and the physical activity, Yuki lost consciousness.

As she blacked out, Yuki looked at this new girl's face.

Yuki already hated her.

* * *

And Yuki kept hating her. Even though all she had done was sleep, she hated her.

Yuki had been asleep the entire car ride back, and much to her extreme displeasure she had learned upon arriving (and she, who had a fever woke up first! Honestly!) that this other girl had no bite marks. She kept on watching, waiting for the girl to eventually awaken… how did this girl sleep for so much longer than her -the entire night- when _she_ was the one who was actually fighting? She was going to drag down the entire group!

But still, she had forced herself to put on a fake smile as she came too.

"Good morning!" Yuki greeted as the new girl came too. "Want some water?" She asked, pouring a glass. _You freeloader._

"Thanks…" The groggy girl said, happily taking the glass from her. "Who are you…?"

Yuki grinned and saluted. "I'm Takeya Yuki! Third year, class 3C!"

What came next surprised Yuki. "I'm Naoki Miki. Second year, class 2B. This place, where is it…?"

"_Thank you! Just… we have a lot of supplies where we were, too! It's all yours, as long as we can rescue Miki!"_

So, _this_ was the one that Kei girl abandoned? What was with all these second years, interrupting her high school love story? "Then I guess that makes me your senpai!" Yuki said with a grin. She was kind of enjoying not having any underclassman, though…

… Oh, she had an idea.

"This is the School Living Club classroom! Oh, Megu-nee, good morning!" Yuki said, waving to nobody.

"The School Living Club… what is that?"

"It's a really fun club! We're still recruiting new members… right, Megu-nee? … Alright, its Sakura-sensei!" Yuki could see the new girl seemed a bit creeped out; good. If she was uncomfortable enough, would she leave? "Well, class is about to start, so I got to get going?"

"Class…?"

Yuki left with a smile.

Hey, maybe this didn't have to end violently. Maybe she'd just _leave_ and all would be will in the world.

But Miki did not leave.

Yuki grit her teeth as she returned from her 'classes,' (which included going back to the first floor to subtly sabotage some traps), then found Miki sitting happily with her Kurumi and Yuuri. She had _already_ come to the conclusion she was going to have to get rid of Yuuri, now she had this second year to deal with too?

"Naoki-kun is here…" Yuki observed with a smile. "What are you talking about?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kurumi said with a little grin.

"We're talking about club activities!" Yuuri said.

"Oh… so you're interested in joining?" Yuki asked, still smiling.

"I guess you could say that…"

"Well! I guess I should give you the tour! Come on, come on!" Yuki ran over, grabbing her and practically pulling her. _OK! Violating personal boundaries! Good!_

"The School Living Club is really amazing, Naoki-kun! I can't wait to show you around!"

"Eh!? But where!?"

"The School Living Club… has the entire school at our disposal!" Yuki said with an excited, exaggerated tone. "And we're always welcoming new members!"

"The whole school…? Just you girls?"

"Well… of course, we gotta share with the other students!" Yuki said, sticking her tongue out. "Here is the music room! Pretty awesome, right?" There were many overturned tables and blood stains, the bad lighting this room got made it even worse. "If you join us, you can sing here with us all you want!"

"Sounds… Nice."

Yuki plugged a CD player into the wall, grinning as it played on. "Look! Cool, right?"

"What a waste of electricity…"

Yuki gasped. "How can you say that!?" It was. After surviving so long efficiently, Miki wouldn't want to live with someone who wasted energy like this, right?

"Beethoven, Bach, and all the other greats are watching you insult music, you know?"

"I don't care… Just, nevermind. Let's go, Yuki-senpai."

"OK!" Yuki said with a smile. Alright… maybe she'd have to keep piling it on? "Liking the tour so far… Mi-kun?"

"Please, just call me Miki…"

Yuki grinned, actually throwing her arms around the younger girl. "Your name is Miki though, so Mi-kun is alright, isn't it?"

"I-I prefer being called Miki!"

"But Mi-kun is cuter! Right, Megu-nee?" From the corner of her eye she noticed Miki's discomfort with a smile.

She really thought this whole 'make Miki want to leave on her own' plan had a pretty good chance! And eventually she left, to attend her 'classes' once more. In this case though, she decided to go to the roof.

"Hey. It's been a while… Megu-nee."

Yuki smiled at the cross.

"You were wrong, you know. This _is_ real love, I can feel it," Yuki said, giggling. "It's a shame… this girl really didn't do anything wrong… what the heck am I saying!? She did the most wrong thing ever! She's getting in the way of _mine_ and Kurumi's happiness!" Yuki said, stomping her foot on the ground. "Just… dammit! You all keep getting in the _way_… I _liked_ you, Megu-nee! You're the only teacher I've _ever_ liked!" Yuki said, balling her fists together. "I liked being your student! I even liked it when you scolded me! But you… you did… that! You _made_ me do that to you!"

Her eyes narrowed into a glare as she looked over her shoulder, and she could swear she saw a visage of the dead teacher, looking at her with such sad eyes. She had been appearing like this to her lately, and it had gone from scary to just infuriating.

"You're not real, _you're not real," _Yuki hissed glaring at the visage, shutting her eyes tightly. "I'm finally happy. This world is _better_ than the old ones. It's not my fault you and Yuuri and even my Kurumi don't understand that-!" Yuki protested, pacing around. "A world where every day is a fun adventure filled with happiness and wonder! If you all just had accepted that instead of… just pretending to play along with me, everyone would have been _sincerely_ happy! It's your faults, not mine!"

She looked over the railing of the roof, at the living dead roaming below. "It's not my fault I'm the only one here who understands it. It's not my fault I have to hide it from you all! Just because _I'm_ the only one who figured out the truth!"

She looked back at Megumi's visage.

"… This world was _meant_ for me, and _only_ exists for me."

She smiled.

"My perfect school life and my perfect romance… it's a shame I couldn't enjoy it with my perfect teacher too, but that's fine. I already have everything planned… Megu-nee. I just have to get rid of Yuuri eventually…"

She closed her eyes tight and opened them again a minute later. The vision was gone.

"That's what I thought…"

Not too long later, she headed back to the main classroom of the School Living Club, before taking Miki up to the roof. Kurumi and Yuuri said they wanted the room to themselves for an hour or two, and so Yuki continued her tour.

"Hi, everyone in the Gardening Club! Mi-kun, say hi!"

"Er… hi…"

She definitely seemed more… disturbed than before. Good! "This is the rooftop garden! And the scenery is amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing, Mi-kun! It's also really great for sunbathing… if we ever find some blond hair dye, maybe we can try looking like gyarus sometime! … Hey? Hello? Earth to Mi-kun."

"I'm sorry, I was listening."

Yuki figured something had happened. She had been with Kurumi and Yuuri for a while alone… perhaps they had talked to her about Yuki? About how she acted?

_None of you can understand how free we are, not even my Kurumi. But I'll help her understand when it's just us,_ Yuki thought. _Free from all the terrible things and prejudices from before… But all of you people just look at the world with dead, hopeless eyes! I hate it! I can't be the only one in the world who was set free by this… maybe if you were, you could stay with us. Anyone, really! But that's fine._

"Mi-kun, you can also read all you want in the library!" Yuki said, still too close for comfort.

"It's not about that…" Miki said with a frown.

"Well, how about—"

Both Miki's and Yuki's eyes widened at the 'party' waiting for them in their main classroom.

"… Eh?" Both asked in unison.

"Welcome to the School Living Club!" Yuuri and Kurumi said in unison. They blew some confetti, had hung up decorations, and even left out the good snacks they usually didn't get to eat!

"W… what is this?" Yuki asked, blinking.

"Well, we wanted to give the both of you a surprise!" Kurumi said with a grin.

"Why did you leave me out of this!?" Yuki demanded, trying to keep her tone playful.

"Well, if everyone found out, it wouldn't be a surprise," Yuuri said with a mischievous grin. Yuki wanted to smash it off her face with her baseball bat. Yuki's hope returned when she noticed Miki just… standing still, though.

"You… didn't like it?" Kurumi asked. But Yuki smiled.

_She probably thinks this is a huge waste of resources! After surviving for so long on her own she'll probably feel like we'll just drag her down…!_

"Heh."

Oh. Miki smiled. Ah.

"Thank you, this made me really happy."

_Dammit,_ Yuki thought. She was going to say something, but didn't, so Kurumi did in her stay.

"So… you want to stay with us?"

"… At least temporarily, yes."

Yuki knew that Miki had to go. ASAP.

* * *

The next few days were quiet.

Usually Yuki was always suggesting something to do for the School Living Club to do next, but lately she had just been focused on 'classes.' There was only so much to do in the dangerous school constantly, and with Miki joining Yuuri and Kurumi assumed that Yuki probably didn't want to just half-ass something for Miki.

_All I have to do is make it look like a suicide or have her get eaten, _Yuki thought to herself, pacing in the library. _The problem is the blood… I don't have any sleeping medicine, so I can't make her fall asleep then just throw her off the roof…_

Yuki had been thinking about it constantly. How could she get rid of Naoki Miki in away that Yuuri and Kurumi wouldn't find it suspicious? There was no place where she could just push Miki off that'd be convenient… And Miki unfortunately wasn't doing patrols. If it was a patrol it'd be easier to just… hit her in the head and throw her to the undead.

She had noticed there was tension lately. She didn't know what was said, but definitely something happened between those three; Yuuri and Miki seemed more tense around each other, and Kurumi was trying to relieve the tension between them and the provisional member of the School Living Club. And honestly? Yuki liked that. The more awkward things were, the less sad anyone would be when Miki was never seen again.

"… Why are you here again?"

Yuki clenched a fist at seeing Megumi's hallucination again.

"Say something."

But unlike the stories she told her 'friends' this vision said nothing.

"I said _say something!"_ Yuki yelled, throwing her baseball bat at the vision, which went through her.

"_It's not too late for you."_

Yuki scoffed. "It's not 'too late' for me because my happy ending is right around the corner. I just need to wait a little longer, patiently… You want me to turn the clock back? Well _I don't want to._ It's _my_ happy world and life and _you_ don't get to say what happens in it anymore! Go back… go back to being dead, _Sakura!"_

Megumi just frowned, shaking her head.

"_I want to believe there's some good in you still."_

Yuki threw a book now. "I don't want to be good! I want to be happy! Just leave me alone, leave me alone and stop bothering me!"

She closed her eyes and opened them, and once again she was gone. Just a figment of her imagination, of her discarded morality bothering her. That was all. There was nothing to fear…

"Oh, Mi-kun!" A few minutes later Miki walked into the library, and Yuki almost jumped in surprise. Thank God she hadn't heard any of that.

"Oh, Yuki-senpai… s-sorry, I was just coming in here to study. I'm not… disturbing your lessons, am I?" Miki still felt uncomfortable with it.

"N-no… I was on my way out, actually!" Yuki said, putting on a smile.

"It's… a bit late," Miki said, looking out and seeing the setting sun.

"Hehe… I have a biiig research assignment due, so I needed to do some research on my own and stay late…" Yuki said, scratching the back of her head. "And you?"

"… I was… reading something related to psychology."

"Oh?"

"Yuki-senpai… why don't we go for a walk together?" Miki asked. "It'd be… nice to clear my head a little. How about you?"

Of course, Yuki didn't want to, but as the bubbly member of the School Living Club…

"Uuu, I'd love to, Mi-kun! Hehe, finally spending time with my junior~!" Yuki said, following after her hated enemy. There was an uncomfortable, awkward silence, one that Yuki seemed to realize she had to break. "You know, isn't the corridor at night really cool?"

"What makes you say that, Yuki-senpai?"

"'Cuz there's nobody here, it really gets my heart pumping! 'Cuz you know Article 3 of the club charter is nobody can wander at night alone, and usually Kurumi and Rii don't want to take strolls, so I'm really happy you wanted to do this Mi-kun!"

"Then… how about daytime?"

Yuki didn't like where this was going. "Eh? Everyone is here during the day, silly…"

"… I see."

Miki stopped walking. "Mi-kun…?"

"Can we stop this already?"

Time felt like it stopped for Yuki, in that moment.

"Megu-nee and everyone else being alive… you're _lying_ about everything, aren't you?" Miki asked, looking over. "It's okay now. You don't need to lie anymore."

Yuki had been lying to everyone for ages in order to protect her happy life.

"Uhh… what did you just say?" Yuki asked, giving a dumb grin.

Miki narrowed her eyes. "There's nobody else left in this school; the world ended and you know it, Yuki," Miki said.

"Well… I mean… it's nighttime! Of course, nobody is here!" Yuki said.

"It's the same during the day."

"Well duh, it's the weekend…"

_Shit._

Yuki didn't think Miki would be so… direct about it.

"I tried looking up your condition in the medical dictionary. The human brain is really fascinating, you know," Miki said.

"Yeah…?"

"I tried looking up a condition for you. Something like not seeing anything you don't want to see, ignoring blatant contradictions right in front of your eyes… there's no such case recorded in that book."

Oh, this bitch was good.

"Normally, even if one was truly delusional, the symptoms wouldn't be as convenient as yours, Yuki. Not to mention that real cases of multiple personality disorder usually has other symptoms or worsens…"

"I… w-what on earth are you talking about…?" Miki advanced, and in the process, Yuki backed up into the wall.

"You have been pretending from the start… probably to help cope with this. But those two took it seriously, so now you feel the need to keep pretending, for their sakes, don't you?" Miki asked, hand on the wall, trapping her.

Yuki _really_ wanted to bash her brains in right now.

"So, just stop it already."

"… Tch."

It hadn't been since her last encounter with Megumi that she had been honest with another person.

"You're a really smart and perspective person, aren't you? I might you were some straight-A student before all this…"

"Yuki-senpai…"

"It's… nice to meet you…"

She looked Miki straight in the eyes, her own expression cold and empty.

"… Naoki Miki. It's nice to finally meet you honestly."

"It's nice to meet you… Takeya Yuki."

All the masks had been thrown aside, and Yuki knew that before long, she would make her move to kill Miki.

"… What did you want to talk to me about, Naoki…?"

"Why. Why are you… why are you doing this?" Miki asked.

"To be happy. Isn't it obvious? It's not a hard question, Naoki."

"…"

"I almost jumped off the second-floor window, when this all began."

"It's hard to blame you. I think we all thought about suicide when this began…"

"Kurumi saved me. The words she gave me are keeping me alive even now," Yuki said, much to Miki's surprise. "If she hadn't given me those words of encouragement, I would have done it… so many people died, but we lived… we owe it to all the people who died to try to be happy. And this… is what makes me, makes _us_ happy…"

"I was right…"

"Oh?"

"I got in a fight with Kurumi and Yuuri," Miki admitted. "About your state… I called it a mutual dependency. It really ticked off Yuuri in particular."

"I guess you weren't wrong… the question is… whatcha gonna do about it, Naoki?" Yuki's usual grin had returned. "Do you think being right is worth the whole group's happiness…? What right do you have to judge us, anyway?" Yuki took control of the situation, being the one to advance now as Miki took a step back. "We _saved_ you from those zombies. If we hadn't shown up at all, you would have just wasted away in that miserable place," Yuki said. "You have a lot of nerve, judging how _we're_ happy and wanting to play the role of a shrink trying to help us!"

"I… I'm sorry."

"Are you, now?" Yuki asked, her smile gone again. "You got your wish. I'm a fraud. What do you want now?"

"… I actually want to talk to you about something I found," Miki said. "I… I'm sorry. I guess I was… I don't know. After spending so much time alone, and… this is a really good thing you girls got going," she was getting off track. "Electricity, water, I wish I had this back at the mall… Seeing you all just run around, having fun, I—"

"Weren't you going to _show me something?"_ Yuki hissed.

Miki was caught off-guard by just how scary the real Yuki was. "I'm sorry… I was looking around, and I found some of your old teacher's, Megu-nee's note and diary… Come along," she said, as they walked back to the library.

"Reading a dead woman's diary?" Yuki scolded.

"Yeah, well, I found something you're going to want to see," she snapped back. "Look at this…"

"… Oh?"

_**STAFF ONLY**_

**EMERGENCY RESPONSE MANUAL**

The night just got very interesting.

* * *

"Are you telling me… that Megu-nee knew this from the damn start!?"

Yuki found it amusing when Kurumi grabbed Miki by the scuff of her shirt, actually.

The two had spent the night discussing what to do, before coming the conclusion that the best course of option was to tell this to Yuuri and Kurumi. Under one condition.

"_You're not going to ruin our happiness just to make yourself feel better when we're taking you in from the goodness of your hearts,"_ Yuki had said. _"You are new here… and have no right to judge us. When the time is right, I'll tell them everything… but for now, you keep it to yourself, got it, Naoki?"_

"_Understood, Yu- … Takeya-san."_

"_Glad we understand eachother…"_

"Kurumi, calm down," Yuuri instructed.

"I don't think she did," Miki said. "Look at the instructions… She received it, but she probably had no idea what was inside."

"That seems more likely, yes," Yuuri said.

"… Why didn't she tell us…" Kurumi said a moment later, anger overcoming her.

"Maybe she wanted to wait until everyone was calmed dow—"

Everyone was caught off-guard by Kurumi slamming Miki into the wall. _"Don't talk like you know everything!"_

"Kurumi, calm down!" Yuuri instructed.

"Y-yeah, Kurumi-chan, calm down!" _Mess her up, darling!_ Yuki said and thought. She had insisted on being here.

"Why did you bring this to us, Miki-san?" Yuuri asked.

"… I found it together with Yuki-senpai," Miki said, looking at the pinkette. "We decided… that the rest of you had the right to know."

"Thank you both," Yuuri said, smiling. "I appreciate it…"

"… Yeah," Kurumi said.

"There's something that really stuck out to us," Miki said, pointing at a map inside the emergency packet. "Look. Basement 2, the disaster shelter… you haven't been down there, have you?"

"No… there has to be a lot of useful supplies down there!" Yuuri said, excited.

"How do we get in there though? I haven't seen any stairs leading down there!" Yuki said, stepping forward.

"It says there's a shudder here…"

"First floor? I'll check it out," Kurumi said.

"Hold on… K-Kurumi-chan, let me go with you!" Yuki said. "We haven't been there, it's dangerous!"

But Kurumi gave an assuring smile. "It's just scouting… I'll be fine, alright?" She said, patting her on the head. "Keep Miki and Rii safe, keep making me proud, alright?"

Yuki swelled with pride. "Y… Yes, Kurumi-chan! Just be careful of the delinquents!" It made Miki sick.

"And… Miki, I'm sorry. All the blood just rushed to my head…"

"Don't worry about it… just stay safe," Miki said, as Kurumi headed off.

"For her to get so worked up like this… She must be wondering why Megu-nee hid this from us…" Yuuri told Miki. But Yuki tuned it out.

She was glaring out the window, seeing Megumi stare up at her again. _Go away…_

"_It's your last chance, Takeya-san,"_ even though the hallucination of Megumi was all the way down in the courtyard, she felt like she could hear Megumi's voice as if she was next to her. _"You still have a chance… what you did to me and Kei was unforgivable. But with these three, you can have a happy life, a fulfilling one… it's your last chance to turn a new leaf. Do the right thing…"_

_I stopped caring about the right thing a long time ago,_ Yuki thought. _The only thing that matters now is Kurumi. And being happy with Kurumi._

"_Do you really think she would ever accept you the way you are now, Takeya-san?"_

_Does it matter? I'm happy. She'll learn to be happy._

"… _This is your last chance… be the woman that Kurumi believes you to be, the kind, gentle girl she's survived all of this with…"_

_She never existed._

Megumi disappeared once more.

Not longer after that, there was a pounding at the door. "Kurumi-chan…?" Yuki asked, getting up.

The next moment later Kurumi came in, and her blood ran cold.

"I messed up," Kurumi said as she stumbled in, a fresh bite mark oozing blood from her shoulder. "I… I messed up bad… It was Megu-nee…"

Yuki fainted.

* * *

Yuki regained consciousness a few minutes later, and immediately sprang into action. Without even being told Yuki fetched hot water, rushing back as quickly as possible.

"It says the shelter Kurumi was looking for… has medicine for the infection."

Yuki came back just in time to hear the _wonderful_ news.

"Kurumi-chan can be saved!?" She ran up, setting the hot water aside. "Where's the entrance!? I'm heading there immediately!"

"I… maybe I should go," Miki said. "I think… maybe Kurumi couldn't handle it because Megu-nee was there. I'm not… attached to her."

"I still think it's too dangerous for any of us to go alone," Yuuri said. "Why don't me and Yuki—"

"I want to go alone," it surprised both Miki and Yuuri, as Yuki looked at the sick, fever-stricken Kurumi. "I fight delinquents a lot… I'm tough. I can do it. I can fight Megu-nee."

"I…" Miki stepped forward. "I think."

"_I don't give a shit what you think! You're the reason we're even in this mess! You and this damn book!"_

Yuuri's eyes widened; she had _never_ heard Yuki talk like that, or show such anger. "C-calm down, Yuki-chan!"

Yuki took deep breaths, clenching her back. "I will… protect Kurumi-chan. You two… will wait here. Got it?"

The two were silent, as she left.

_What's happening…? _Yuuri thought, tears in her eyes. In just one day, everything was falling apart, just like back then…

_I can't fail._

Yuki was killing anything in her past. Any zombie, and if any living people had somehow been in the building, she would have killed them all in a heartbeat. Kurumi was _hurt._ Because of that Naoki bitch. The _moment_ someone new entered the school, her happy life was starting to fall apart. Her darling Kurumi was _dying._

The plan had been simple, she ruminated, as she slammed her baseball bat in the head of a zombie.

First, she would kill Miki and Yuuri. Then, she'd restrain all of Kurumi's limbs and gag her mouth so she could not bite through her own tongue and kill herself. She'd talk to her constantly, read her stories about romance and their lives; Kurumi would _learn_ to love her. And finally, after a living hell, Kurumi would _break_ and Yuki could put back together all the pieces.

And then they would be happy, just the two of them.

She had a _dream_ she would make a reality no matter what it took.

"Is this where you went…?" Yuki hissed, entering the dark and wet basement. She saw her old teacher approach, in dirty clothing. "I messed up… I thought you'd just be eaten alive… nothing left of you to get back up," Yuki said. "I was never the best student, so I made a bad mistake…"

Megumi approached.

"I keep seeing you, everywhere. Every day, I keep seeing you! It's not just a lie to the girls; I keep seeing you, talking to me, telling me to be _good! _I don't need to be good! I need to be happy! Every fiber of my being years for Kurumi's safety… for her love! I must protect her! I'll protect her… from everything! Even you! I should have protected her from _YOU!"_

She charged.

"DIE AND DISAPPEAR! JUST DISAPPEAR ALREADY! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

"_You can still be good."_

Yuki went into a blind rage as she unleashed months of aggression into her zombie teacher. She did not just destroy the head, oh no; she went for the rest of the body instead. Megumi's legs and arms, even her torso… bat upon body, metal upon rotten flesh, she took out months of aggression on the zombie. But she did not destroy her brain, no.

Her legs were destroyed, as were her arms, and her torso was nearly torn apart. But… she did not live. Even though the injuries to her internal organs were unspeakably traumatic, with her brain intact, her head under the water, Megumi lived.

"…"

Yuki smiled.

"Megu-nee… even now, you're teaching me good things. Even now, you're teaching me the path to walk on…"

She kicked over Megumi's battered body, the zombie now face-down in the water… but alive. "This is better… this is… this is even better than what I had planned…"

Yuki laughed.

"Even in the end… thank you for the final lesson, Megu-nee."

Now at last, her path was truly clear.

* * *

"I have the medicine."

Miki was anxious, but Yuuri look downright terrified. She held a knife in her hands and was shaking nonstop, but seemed to calm down a bit when she heard Yuki had the medicine. "Don't' worry… Kurumi-chan will be alright," Yuki said with a smile, patting Yuuri's shoulder, and she dropped the knife… which was immediately collected by Yuki.

"She said… she made a promise…" Miki said.

"I know the promise… Thank you, Rii-san…"

"… Yuki, do you… do you remember…?" Yuuri asked, and Yuki gave a gentle smile and hugged her.

"When Kurumi-chan is better… I'll be more honest with everyone, OK?" She said, and Yuuri let out a sob as she hugged her and Miki smiled. "Thank you for everything, Mi-kun… you helped me realized this."

"You're welcome… Yuki-senpai," she said. "That's… what club mates are for, right?"

"Yeah…"

She injected Kurumi with the small syringe, smiling.

"Rii-san… can you keep an eye on Kurumi-chan while she rests? I want to talk to Mi-kun on the roof."

"Oh, ah… sure think, Yuki," Yuuri said with a smile facing the now more peaceful Kurumi. "Please… do your best, Kurumi…"

… Ah, where had her knife gone?

"Yuki-senpai?"

"I'm tired of all these charades, Mi-kun…" Yuki smiled at her junior. "Thank you for letting me be honest with you…"

"It's… it's nothing, Yuki-senpai," Miki said with a smile. "I was judging you all too hard, like you said… I didn't think about it from your perspective. You weren't playing pretend, you were keeping everyone happy in your own way… in a world like this, we need it."

"I wasn't keeping everyone happy, Mi-kun. I was keeping _myself_ happy. I don't care about yours, Yuuri's, or even Kurumi's happiness. I just want to be happy after a _lifetime_ of being miserable."

That cheerful smile betrayed her words.

"… Yuki…?"

"I've grown tired of all these fake smiles. The world has become so _beautiful_ and we are free to be as happy as we want, yet there's only you people with fake smiles accompanied by your dead, empty eyes… I want to wipe them all out without a trace. I want the only thing to remain behind be my eternal, unending love for my Kurumi. That's all I care about…"

She sat down her backpack, reaching for a more… elaborate syringe.

"Yuki… I… Is that…!?"

"There's a lot of syringes down there… I just filled that one up with water. This is the real vaccine," Yuki said, walking to the railing. "They only had one. And now, it's _gone."_

"Wait… No! NO!"

Miki screamed as Yuki tossed it off the school roof, into the courtyard below. "Y… What the FUCK are you doing!? _WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!? KURUMI IS—"_

Miki was ready to fight Yuki, but an unspeakably searing pain erupted in her stomach, and she looked down to see Yuuri's knife, held by Yuki's hand in her stomach. "… T… Yu… ki…?"

"This is even better now. I don't even need to worry about making your death look like a suicide!" Yuki said cheerfully. "This wonderfully cool and happy world… I'm going to start living it to its full potential! But… see, there's not enough room for four people… Just me and my Kurumi…"

Miki wanted to curse, but she was too busy writhing in agony.

"… Kei came here too, you know."

Miki looked up with shocked eyes. "K… ei…?"

"Yup! Kei-chan stopped by while I was on patrol… she wanted to bring you here, actually! She said she had left her last shelter to find something new… and wanted to go look for her old friend. She said your name, Miki-kun~" She said, smiling warmly at her.

"K… ei…!"

"So, I killed her, of course. I couldn't risk her intruding into my paradise… I just figured, since you were dying and all, you could at least know what happened to your best friend before you died," Yuki said, starting to walk off. "Have a fun dying! Say hi to Takae-chan if you see her for me, OK?"

Miki wanted to say something, but could only cry as she thought of her past with Kei, and these few happy days with the School Living Club, all brought to an end by the machinations of Takeya Yuki, as she closed her eyes and drew her final breath. At the very least, in her last moments, she felt no pain, only blissful release, and comforted by the ideas of being united with Kei once more.

"… Yuki-chan? Where's Miki…?"

"Oh… just clearing her head. How's Kurumi-chan?"

"She's drifting in and out of consciousness… but… I don't know, she's still thrashing around… Yuki-san. I'm… I'm scared. I don't… I don't think it's working…"

"Of course it's not working. I didn't give her any medicine."

"What…? Yuki, what are you—"

Yuuri turned around, and in doing so, was greeted to a knife in her throat. "U… uuu…!" She tried to scream something out, but the garbled blood and metal in her throat made it impossible. As Yuki withdrew the knife she fell on her back, grasping the wound in horror.

"I've hated you for a long time. Ever since Kurumi-chan almost died the day Megu-nee died. For leaving her in the teacher longue… Well, even if I hadn't hated you, this was going to happen eventually," Yuki said, grinning. "For my happy ending…"

"R… Ru… R… Ruu…" Yuuri mumbled with her last breath, quickly growing limp. If nothing else… perhaps now she could finally make proper amends with the spirit of her sister…

She tapped her foot. "… Huh, you died way quicker than Miki…"

Kurumi was conscious, watching in horror as Yuki approached. "G… get… b… ba… back…"

"Oh, my darling Kurumi… Don't you worry, my love…" Yuki had never spoken like this around her, and to do so… she was blushing, this was exhilarating! "Everything is going to be OK…"

Kurumi blacked out, succumbing to the fever.

* * *

When Kurumi woke up, she was hungry.

Something was wrong. She was… Ebusizawa Kurumi. She remembered that. And… her friends were Yuki and Yuuri and Miki… but…

Why did she feel so groggy… and so… so…

_Hungry. Hungryhungryhungryhungryhungryhungryhungry!_ She was on a couch… right, didn't the others lay her there? It was getting hard getting up… She pushed herself off, but couldn't grab anything? Huh? So weird…

She fell to the ground, unable to get up.

"Rise and shine, Kurumi-chan!"

Yuki was disturbingly cheerful as she entered the room. "Look at you… you even got out of the sofa by yourself! You've always been a strong one, my darling! If anyone could do it, it was you!"

Everything in her vision was red with black spots, and while she recognized Yuki, she recognized her _flesh _moreso. _FOODFOODFOODFOODFOODFOODFOODFOODFOOD!_ Why was it so hard to think about anything other than eating!?

"I got the idea from Megu-nee in the basement… And how she survived so many of my attacks without dying. I realized something… This is better. The other plan, you might have killed yourself or something at some point… but this… this is better, Kurumi-chan. Look!"

She wheeled in a mirror for Kurumi to take a look at herself. Her flesh was rotten, and she could see why she had so much trouble moving around; her hands and feet were gone.

"I will protect you forever, my love… I'm going to miss your voice… I'm going to miss your praise so much… but that's OK. Because now, I can _protect_ you, and only you, forever," Yuki said, leaning down to smile, as Kurumi attempted to bite the air between them. "This is my happy ending, and yours too… no more fighting, no more worrying about survival… from now on, I'm the only one that has to worry about that! Now… you can just relax, forever…"

She walked back outside the room, dragging in Yuuri's body. _FOOD!_

"When you're done with her, you can start working on Miki, OK? I already cut her body up and put it in the fridge… For now, eat all you want!"

With Yuuri's body in front of her, Kurumi could no longer fight her impulses, burying her face into her friend's stomach and beginning to eat.

"And this is how it'll be. The perfect school life. The perfect high school romance. Just you and me, and _nobody_ else… here, in a quiet, peaceful world. A world that was made for me, and only exists for me… And you're a part of it, Kurumi-chan… Isn't that wonderful?"

She patted her head as she ate. "Just you and me, my love… No more silly games. No more pretend smiles. I'll protect you from the outside world and keep you fed, always. Forever, and ever, and ever still…"

She looked behind her, seeing Megumi look at her with such a sad expression. "You were wrong, Megu-nee. I'm still happy."

And Megumi's visage disappeared from her brain, this time forever.

"I hated being alive, I hated coming to school. But now, this place is a heaven. You and me, my beloved Kurumi… in my happy, quiet world, forever, where I will always protect you…"

Somewhere inside her head, as she continued to eat, Kurumi screamed.

* * *

"Thank you so much for taking us in. We mean it."

"It's no problem. Dekuchi-san."

Yuki smiled as she passed the cup of tea to the leader of this new group of girls a few months later. A group had taken shelter with Yuki's invitation. "You two looked like you were on death's door when I found you."

"Yeah…" Touko frowned, adjusting her glasses. "Again, there were… problems, with the group that lived with us, at St. Isidore University. We just… had to leave. We didn't have any chance to really grab any food or water…" Touko frowned. "It's really… just you here, huh?"

"Mhm! It gets lonely, but I've learned to adapt…" Yuki said with a laugh. "Hopefully with all of you around, things will liven up a bit!"

"We'll do our fair share, don't worry," Touko said. "We're not freeloaders or anything…"

"Hey, don't worry about that, you're guests… For now, can you head back to the room I gave you? It's a comfort thing… I get anxious if people are wandering after dark, even when I had more people here…"

"Of course, of course. Your place, your rules," Touko said, getting up. "And ah… again, I'm sorry, but Hika-chan is alright, right…?"

"Of course! She just had a slight fever, but I didn't see any bites on her… so I just sent her up to her room! You'll see her again tomorrow!"

"Alright… well, goodnight, Takeya-san," Touko said, heading up. It was really fortunate… she was really running out of hope at this point. It was bad enough they had lost Rise back in St. Isidore and Aki on the way here, it really was just her and Hika now. She felt responsible for her well-being, she felt it was her fault the incident went as bad as it was… but Hika had been pretty sick, so she was worried.

"… _H… Help… T-Touko… help…"_

"… Hika…!?"

Yuki's only real rule other than 'don't go out after dark' was 'do not enter the room marked DO NOT ENTER.' It was… a pretty sensible rule to say the least, but… that was Hika's voice. She was just on her way to her room, but… that was surely Hika's voice from inside! "Hika, are you in there!?"

Damn manners, she flung open the door, only to see one of the undead hunched over Hika, gnawing at her stomach. _"HIKA!?"_

"_H… help…"_

Touko was ready to rush forward before feeling something metal slam into her back, roaring in pain, seeing Yuki standing over her. "T… Takeya…!?"

"How rude. I even put up a sign."

She swung the bat down on her head before she had a chance to say anything back.

"Ah… Kurumi my love, I'm so sorry! I should have locked the door… how rude of her, intruding on your dinner like that…"

This was a perfectly happy ending that she would not have traded for anything in the world, Yuki concluded.

It had taken the end of the world, but she had obtained both true love and a perfect world, and after a lifetime of depression, she had finally obtained true happiness.

At the sight before her, Yuki smiled.

_They all died, but I'm alive. So, I'll be happy enough with my life for all the dead…_

It was a perfect ending to her perfect high school romance and school year.

* * *

"_You know, I really used to hate going to school and I used to hate being alive… But you know what? Lately, I really like school these days."_

**We're always together.**

**There is no goodbye now.**

**Friends forever.**


End file.
